chopping the top on Sunday!

[robselina]

Hey Guys,
Well, I've got permission from the little lady to chop the top off of "her" Jeep. ;) (funny how it became hers all of a sudden) I'm doing it tomorrow if all goes well. Any last minute suggestions before I pull out the angle grinder?

[jode]

You got plans for a rollcage?

You are using a cutting wheel on the angle grinder rather than a grinding wheel right? That could help speed things along.

[Booger]

Post pics I would love to do that some day. What will you do if it rains? Will you have a special top made?
good luck

[Booger]

Make sure that you cover up all the glass, the sparks will melt into it and be perminent. I learned that the hard way:(

[Midnightwagon]

have fun!!!!!!!!!!!!

[robselina]

Hey Guys, Here go all the replies smile.gif

Jode: The roll cage plan has changed. Initially I was going to use 2" square stock. Right now it looks like it's going to be a 6 point 2" or 3" set up. A little undecided on some of the finer details at this point. I'm going to think about it more once the top is off and I've done some bracing to the body. I'm going to use up some of the 2" square stock I have to brace between the (B?) pillars behind the front seats. Also going to use it in the rear since I'm taking out the tailgate too. That will keep it in one piece I figure and stop it from flexing too much.
I do intend on using cutting wheels ;)

Booger: I live in the desert of NM, rain isn't too much of a problem for us out here. I have a CJ-7 with a hardtop though if it does rain. The interior of the Wag is already stripped. There's no carpet, door panels, headliner, etc to absorb any water and cause rust, and I've got some bestop seats that seem to be pretty water resistant to throw in there. I'm plutting bedliner down on the interior too, so that will also help protect her in bad weather. Eventually, I'll design a soft top, very similar to: http://www.davidallenracing.com/cherokee.htm and the little lady has agreed to sew it up for me, but that probably won't happen until next fall. I've got axle swaps planned and some other mods that are a little higher up my list at this point that I want to take care of. Thanks for the tip on the glass, I hadn't thought of that! I'll make sure to take a few pics and throw them up on the web once she's topless.

Midnightwagon: YOU BET I WILL!

Thanks guys, rob

[Booger]

go with a name brand bedliner the extra money is worth it in the long run.

[rockjeep44]

You'll need a sawzall to get through the roof and pillars. It's thick. What I did was draw a line across the roof and cut through the first layer with the angle grinder and then went and cut all the way through with the sawzall. That way I had a nice little track to keep my blade in. I ditched my tailgate and front doors as well and all my glass. It's heavy. I just went with lexan for a windshield and that was it. It's great to have a rollover and have no damage whatsoever smile.gif BTW, are you building a rollcage out of square tubing? I wouldn't recommend that. Go with 2in OD welded seam or something. Good luck
-Andrew

[robselina]

thanks andrew. First I should clarify, i was initially going to use square tube for the cage and I've decided to ditch it and use 2 or 3" tube instead.
You're dead right about needing the sawzall. I drove 120 miles round trip this morning to get angle grinder wheels, got home, couldn't get through the roof properly with the 4.5" unit, drove all the way back to Home Depot (another 120 mile round trip) got the sawzall. HOHO! I have a new favorite toy! I'm ditching the tailgate, front doors, all the glass too except the front windshield. Just cant give it up yet, but I might have to go lexan like you in the future. BTW, your jeep kicks major Great Googley MoogleyGreat Googley MoogleyGreat Googley MoogleyGreat Googley MoogleyGreat Googley Moogley, probably my favorite on the list. You just wait though, give me a year or so and I'll be able to give you some competition smile.gif

Anyway, here's a rough cut picture for you Booger. I still need to clean up the windshield frame and all the pillars, but the majority of the destruction is done at this point.

front (http://www.nmt.edu/~rselina/wagcut01.JPG)
back (http://www.nmt.edu/~rselina/wagcut02.JPG)
She'll be a lot less ugly once she's painted black, and I put the bedliner down...at least I hope so! There's a 14 bolt FF swap for the rear in the works too, and the front is undecided. Then I'll be able to get some 38-40" tires...assuming I get a new credit card ;)

[timmirvin]

Sweet!!! smile.gif smile.gif

[jode]

Dope! :D

[AMX factor]

I thought about doing that to my 87GW but the wife would leave me....wait.... Anyways instead I'm cutting a sunroof in it instead. I built a tonneau cover for it, have snaps installed, have fiberglass bows ready. Just need a good weekend and sunny weather to do it.

[robselina]

cool AMX, post some pics once it's done, okay?

[shredby4]

That is sweet!!!!!

[rockjeep44]

Rob, that looks awesome. Thanks for the compliment on the jeep man. I can't wait for yours to be done. It definitely looks like I'm gonna have some competition. You gonna bob it too? Two points of interest. Go with the 2in OD tube for the cage. 3in will take up way too much room in the cab and depending on how big of a guy you are you won't like it at all. I think the 2in is just right. Also it holds up great, check my rollover video for proof ;) Also, if you do go lexan spend the extra dough and get the protective coating. It's gonna be about twice as much but I didn't get it and a year later my lexan is so scratched it's almost worthless. Basically anytime you wash your windshield or anything hits it offroad it scratches. If you brush dust off it with your hand it scratches. The protective coating is supposed to make it just like glass. Anyways, my two cents. Keep us updated with pics. I love it.
-Andrew
PS. I see you are a baja claw man. Are you gonna run the 38.5sx16s?

[ May 04, 2003, 09:35 PM: Message edited by: rockjeep44 ]

[robselina]

thanks a lot Andrew. I am planning on bobbing her, just not positive how much. Kinda depends on how the whole rear axle swap works out. I have 4" springs with 2" blocks right now. Putting a 14 bolt FF on 2" blocks seems kinda stupid. I figure my u-bolts will be the weakest link in that situation. I could get RB's kit and some stock springs, or go with the chevy springs and new hangers, or even go with coils. haven't decided yet. I'd like to move the axle back an inch or two if I can (more space for big meats), so the later two seem more realistic, though the fabrication for coils scares me. Obviously these different setups will afect the rear end's lenght so I'm leaving it alone until I work it out.

Cool, I'll take your word on the 2" tube. Any thoughts on wall thickness? Don't want to add more weight than necessary. I'm all over that video man! I'll look for it on your site tonight.

As far as tires go, I have the 31s on the wag and 35x13.50s on my CJ. The wag just isn't geared for big tires right now you know? 2.73s suck. I'm inclined to run the 38.5s like you once done, though I am a little curious about the TSLs, seen a lot of guys running them out here. I'll probably stick with what I know, the MT Baja Claws are nearly indestructible and though it's less of an issue, you just can't beat the way they look man! I get more questions about my tires than any other mod on my rigs (from non 4x4 guys that is).

One more question for you. What did you do to cover the top of the front windshield and the pillars? Just weld some sheet metal on there? That's what I'm thinking at this point (bondo will not come within 100 yards of this thing) but figure I'll aks you since you've been through this and all.
Thanks dude, Rob

[robselina]

jode, timmirvin and shred;
thanks for the kind words, I'll make sure to take some more pics once I get a little more done!

[Glenn_tx]

Looks sharp!

[Midnightwagon]

nice!!!! i like it. it gives me things to think about for the homecoming. i got alot planned already but i dont think i got enough time.
goodluck on the rest and i cant wait to see the rest of the pics!!

[rockjeep44]

Rob, lets see here. Go with .120 wall welded seam for the tubing. It's the perfect combination of strength and weight. Thats what I used and it's readily available cuz it's a common size/thickness. Don't waste money on the DOM. Welded seam is plenty strong.

If you want to run leaf springs you could do what I did. I got alcan to build me a set of springs so I didn't have to run blocks and I lowered the front mount of the rear springs down two inches for a net of about 1in extra of lift. My rear sits just a tad higher than the front now. Oh and I did a shackle flip too, but not like riverbeasts. Just basically flipped the shackle and ran revolvers, I'd say I got about an 1in from that too.

As far as tires, go with the Claws if your poison is rockcrawling and you want the meanest sidewalls on the planet. I go up against the big TSLs (39.5s and 42s) on a regular basis and they just don't hook up on the rock here as well as the Claws. You do live in TX though and the traction there is totally different so I don't know.

As for your last question I'm not sure if I understand what you're asking but here's a pic of the area in question. Pictures speak a thousand words smile.gif Lemme know if this doesn't answer your question though. I cut all my pillars off. The only windshield frame I have to speak of is the cage. I welded tabs to it to bolt the lexan too.
http://www.rebelrockrunners.org/gallery/tellico/dixierun/images/L1000279.jpg
I had left the windshield, frame, and A pillars in but on the very first ride out of the shop after the chop I hit a tree and literally ripped one of the pillars off and blew out the windshield lol. Oh well.
-Andrew

[johnwaynejeep]

I think I'd like to cut the top off a wag and make it somehow re-attacheable like a Bronco. I can't afford a wag and a J truck and I won't be happy with only a wag (I hate the limiting factors of SUV's) or only a J truck so I figured I could have a Wag with the versatility of a truck and the looks of a wag. There's a company in Texas that makes custom soft tops too. I thought that would look cool.

[robselina]

okay, after seeing your rollover video, I'm on board with the 2" 0.120 welded tube smile.gif That video is nuts man! I don't know if you get the crazy mofo award or the near darwin award for that one! ;) I've also decided that my roll cage does in fact need to go all the way to the back of the jeep, and also that I want a full lenght bumper with raised hoops. That thing really saved your front end on that one. I was going to rig a short one up to save some clearance in front of the tires, but now i'm thinking otherwise. BTW, did anything break durring that "incident"? Looks like some stuff came out of the cab and you dented up your front fender but that was about it! Nice!

Rockcrawling is definitely my poison out here, with a little mudding too when we have the rain. There's a little area I call the playground about a mile from here. It's got some fun little inclines and a drainage patch for a ranch. It's pretty much flooded or REALLY muddy most of the year. LOTS of fun if I've got a few minutes to kill and fly through (usually turns into an all day affair trying to get OUT, but that's a whole other issue) I really like the sidewalls on the claws too. I could slash BFGs pretty easily on rocks, these hold up real nice. I like how grippy the tread is too, like you said, it'll catch and pull you up a lot of the time. I'm pretty sure I'll stick with them, I like them.

Okay still a little confused on the pillars. Here are a couple of pics of my problem areas.
http://www.nmt.edu/~rselina/wagtop1.JPG
http://www.nmt.edu/~rselina/wagtop2.JPG
I know you ditched the front windshield, but i'm pretty sure I've seen a pic of it primered black where mine is open at the top right now, wondering what you did with it initially. I'm probably just going to weld little covers over these areas to stop water getting in, but wondering if you did anything special.
Anyway, here's a side pic for you guys, couldn't move back far enough from where I took the pics yesterday to get one.

http://www.nmt.edu/~rselina/wagtop3.JPG

Johnwaynejeep: check out this if you like the idea of a soft top:
http://www.davidallenracing.com/cherokee.htm
she's real purdy!
also,

[robselina]

..ignore the "also," didn't have anyting else to say.

Thanks to everyone for the compliments!

[rockjeep44]

Hehe, I'll take the crazy MOFO award. I like the sound of that better smile.gif Definitely a good call to go with the stinger front bumper. It saved my Jeep bigtime! My hood and radiator would have been ruined more than likely without it. Heck, my hood emblem even survived. You gotta love that. After that roll I'm definitely a believer. Another thing I like about it, is that it allows you to pull right up next to something because it will be the first thing that touches and you can see it over the hood. Nothing broke from the rollover, all it did was ding up the side of my hood and that's about it. I tweaked my tranny crossmember a tad but hardly enough to notice.

As far as the pillars, I know exactly what you're talking about now. I didn't have to deal with the far back one because I bobbed it off, then the ones over the rear doors I just left open. As far as the windsield I know what you mean, there are like 3 layers that look like crap. I pondered what to do, and was considering welding some sort of sheetmetal cap over it but I ripped it off before I got a chance smile.gif Here is a shot of the custom sheetmetal panels I made for the rear in lieu of the crappy stock cardboard ones. This isn't the best pic but you can see the black rivits where I put the metal in. Worked out nicely. I noticed your cardboard cutouts were gone so I thought you might like this idea.
http://www.rebelrockrunners.org/gallery/chopshop/cell/images/L1010618.jpg
-Andrew

[blt2krl]

resilna, you may want to weld you inner and outer fender together on your rear. other wise you will throw **** all up inside...

[robselina]

ANDREW: yea, my old rear panels were pretty shot from all the mudd I got on them. I intend to make some out of diamond plate and rivet or screw them in like yours. I'm going to make diamond plate covers for the rear doors too. I made some cardboard traces before I trashed the old panels. One more thing, did I read that correclty and you said that it's a stinger brand bumper? I figured you made it, now I'm really curious. P.S. I like the tank and how your seats are attached to the frame. Okay, how about you just give me your jeep since it's exactly what I want? smile.gif

BLT2KRL: you're right, I do get crap stuck up there all the time. I've been holding off from doing any finishing work on the wheel wells though until I'm positive the 38.5s will fit perfectly full stuff. Once they've been test fitted, then I'm going to weld it up.

I've done a little more work on it today. Got it painted on the exterior, installed the new (used) front seats, installed my better rhino grill and I started painting the inside and laying down bedliner. I did one of those ultra high tech flat black rattle can jobs. It's the lattest and greatest in painting technology ;) Here are the latest pics. I hadn't started the bedliner or painting the interior yet when I took them.

http://www.nmt.edu/~rselina/wagblack1.JPG

http://www.nmt.edu/~rselina/wagblack2.JPG

[Desert Beast]

lookin sweet man. what size lift you got, i noticed that you dont have a SOA. just intrested, it looks sick. http://images.bravenet.com/brpics/smilie/headbang.gif

[rockjeep44]

Lookin good man, lookin very good. About the bumper, you can't buy that baby anywhere ;) My friend and I made it all custom. It's just the bumpers nowadays with the big front hoop that extends above the hood are referred to as "stingers" so thats why I called it such. I believe Avalanche engineering pioneered that style and coined the term.
-Andrew
PS. Keep the pics comin, I'm enjoying this.

[robselina]

DESERT BEAST: Thanks man! It's a Rusty's 6" lift (www.rustysoffroad.com). He's a pretty good guy to deal with, his prices are really reasonable too. If I were to do it all over though, I'd go SOA in the front and lower the rear spring and flip the shackle. It's just a more durable setup. The flex on this kit is pretty decent, though SOA is better. I'm mainly concerned with durability though. When all said and done, I want to be able to mash down on the skinny pedal and not have to worry with this thing. So far I've killed one front leaf on the suspension. I carry a spare now and I figure it'll be fine until I get my axles swapped. I'm not doing any wheelin' until I get some sort of cage worked out at this point :( That won't take TOO long though I hope. It's freakin great weater out!

ANDREW: gotcha. Figured it would be too easy if it were readily available. LOL. Oh well, I need some practice with the welder anyway...I suck at welding. Glad you're having fun man. ;) I'll post another pic tomorrow after I get the bedliner and interior painting finished.

[rockjeep44]

Sounds good man. So you broke a leaf huh? Thats pretty hardcore that you carry a spare now. I love it. I broke my main leaf on my last ride to tellico. I used a 10ft chain and comealone to strap my axle in place to get my butt of the trail. I even drove it about 30 minutes on the road at about 40mph with that setup :eek: You'd be surprised how well it works. I'd hate to do it again though.
-Andrew

[robselina]

**** dude, I wouldn't want to drive at 40 mph with that setup! I actually didn't break the main leaf completely, I just rearched it. It was bent pretty bad and the shackle was stuffed against the frame, so I had no flex on that side. I just bumped up the shocks to their maximum setting on the front and limped her out on 2 wheel drive (i bent the front driveshaft at the same time, wouldn't clear the crossmember to use four wheel. I replaced that spring pack and then rearched the old one to use it as a spare. I also have an extra front driveshaft now. I'm trying to get into the habit of taking parts and tools with me. I need to rig a cargo area of sorts in her pretty soon, don't want all that stuff just flopping around back there.

Anyway, didn't get jack @$#% done today on the jeep. I tore out the passenger side seat and put some seam sealer around two welded patches in the floor. I had put the patches in there months ago, but hadn't done the seam sealer yet. Stuff is supposed to dry in 20 minutes....I did it at 9:00 this morning and it's still not dry....I'm waiting for it to completely cure so I can sand it down, clean the whole thing up and stick some bedliner down. That might take a while at this rate. Aside from that I pulled out the wiring that went to the rear windows, locks, front seats and drivers side seat belt. Pretty much the last of the internal wireing...again, just getting ready to finish the bedliner. With any luck it will be dry tomorrow and I can finish this up then. I think first priority after that will be to get some sort of roll cage set up, at least the beginings of one...that will have to wait until after finals though, since they start on Saturday.....